Surveillance Video Shows Dramatic Robbery Of SW Philadelphia Bar

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Police released dramatic surveillance video of a thief armed with a sawed-off shotgun holding up patrons at a Southwest Philadelphia bar.

Investigators now believe the same suspect may have robbed three bars in three weeks.

The video shows the suspect looking calm and at one point, even sounding courteous. The suspect actually thanks his victims for complying.

According to police, the video is from the robbery just after midnight on September 9th at the Good Times Bar on the 5500 block of Lansdowne Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. The cameras there captured video and audio of the suspect just before he entered the bar and what happened once he was inside.

Lt. John Walker with the Philadelphia Police Department explained, “He racks his shot gun. He tells everybody to get on the floor and empty the cash out of their pockets.”

The suspect is heard on tape saying, “All money on the floor.”

The video shows the suspect getting what he demanded. He then tells his victims, he’s not there to kill anybody and orders everyone to stay down before leaving. Police say in that robbery, he was last seen fleeing the scene in a white van.

Since then, police say two more bars have been robbed in the same manner: Famous Bar on the 7500 Block of Haverford Avenue on September 30th and JZ Tavern on the 5500 Block of Girard Avenue on October 1st.

Lt. Walker said, “His frequency has increased. After the first one, we hadn’t seen one for a couple weeks then he hits two within the past week. So we’re concerned he’s going to continue on.”

Police say the suspect is only taking cash from his victims but he’s not getting away with much which worries investigators who are left wondering when and if the suspect will grow more desperate.

“He’s calm right now but a little bit of movement by people or when he’s racking that gun and it goes off, depending on what type of bullets he has in there, it could be a problem for us,” Walker added.

The suspect is described as a black male in his late 30s to mid 40s about 6’ tall with a stocky build.